What is Alexa+? Everything you need to know about Amazon's new AI assistant

Alexa+ can respond with a more natural cadence, handle multiple prompts within a single session, and generate content instead of providing canned answers to questions. It also features greater customization power to remember user preferences (think ChatGPT's Memory) for more productive user interactions, learning "the rhythm of your life," according to Amazon SVP Panos Panay.

Also: Not all Echo devices will get Alexa+ - see if yours made the list

Aside from all of this, Alexa+ has contextual awareness, so it can hold long conversations and remember what you asked before your last question, rather than repeating prewritten responses from Alexa Answers contributors. As Amazon demonstrated, it can also read and process documents to answer questions, such as school calendars or an HOA's CC&R document.

Giving Alexa the power of generative AI was already expected to be Amazon's star announcement in 2025, and it has been. The company is now bringing the generative AI-powered Alexa+ to reality, along with a new user interface coming to an Echo device near you.

The new Alexa+ began rolling out to some users in the spring of 2025 in an early access phase, which has been gradually expanding since then.

While Alexa dominates the US market for virtual assistants (nearly two-thirds of smart speaker owners use Echo devices), it has also recently fallen behind other assistants, including Gemini and Copilot. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT triggered a tidal wave of generative AI tech, pushing other virtual assistants to the sidelines.

Also: Here's how to use Alexa+ for free - especially if you're an Amazon Prime member

The new breed of generative AI-powered virtual assistants -- ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, powered by OpenAI's technologies; Gemini, powered by Google's LLMs; and Siri, powered by Apple LLMs -- have surged ahead in the past two years. The new Alexa+, powered by Amazon Bedrock models, including Nova and Anthropic, is much more capable than its current version.

After the early access period ends, Amazon's Alexa+ will be available as a subscription service for $20 per month, but it will be included with a Prime subscription. A subscription-based system has been rumored for about a year, so this didn't come as a surprise. However, those rumors suggested a cost of between $5 and $10 monthly. At $20, Alexa+ is the same price as a ChatGPT Plus subscription.

Also: The best AI chatbots

The Classic Alexa will still be available for users who prefer not to pay the monthly fee, though it's not known how long Amazon plans to maintain the current version.

You can request early access to Alexa+ through a compatible Echo device or set it up when you buy a new one. The Echo devices below, including their Kids variations, are compatible with early access to Alexa+:

• Echo Show 8 (2025)
• Echo Show 11 (2025)
• Echo Dot Max (2025)
• Echo Studio (2025)
• Echo Show 8 (2023)
• Echo Show 10
• Echo Show 15
• Echo Show 21
• Echo Show 5
• Echo Hub
• Echo Spot
• Echo Dot (2023)
• Echo Pop

Once you have Alexa+ on one of these Echo devices, you can use it on the rest of your compatible Echo speakers and devices, the Alexa app, compatible Fire TVs, and Fire tablets. Online access through Alexa.com is coming soon.

Amazon also released a new, revamped platform for the Echo Show with the launch of Alexa+.

Also: The best Alexa devices

The redesigned Echo Show user interface features a sleeker layout for your favorite widgets and a cohesive look throughout the screen. Alexa+ introduced adaptive display to the large Echo Show devices, the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21, to display a simplified view from a distance that transitions to a customized screen when you approach the device, like the 2023 Echo Show 8.

Alexa+ will also have integrations with your Ring subscriptions to provide a new experience on the Echo Show.